15 short minutes: how a random student conversation changed my perspective

So, I haven’t written much lately. Truth be told, I haven’t really felt like it. I’ve felt like I’ve lost my drive. I’ve wondered if I’d left some of my passion for my job on March Break. I’ve wondered if I’ve been connecting with and engaging my students through my pedagogical choices. 

And then today, while I was sitting at my desk doing some marking on our lunch break, a student walked in and begin discussing a short story we’d read in Language class. And then this student moved on to talk about the math challenges we’d be doing. And he said, “You know, I never knew WHY a triangle had 180 degrees. I just accepted it. How many times do we do that? Just accept things without thinking about them?”  

It was 15 minutes. It was a random, unexpected conversation. 

And I remembered why I love my job.